Where is New Zealand?

Where is New Zealand located?

Discovering the land of New Zealand has to start somewhere and it’s location is as good an any… So where is New Zealand? New Zealand is a country in the Oceania continent. It’s located in the South Pacific Ocean, about 1,500km east of Australia and around 1,000km south of South Pacific Islands, such as Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, etc.

New Zealand is a Commonwealth nation which means it was once a British Colony. English is the main language spoken in New Zealand. New Zealand is also home to the Maori culture, which were the first Polynesian people to settle on New Zealand. The country is made up of two large land masses called the North Island and South Island, as well as hundreds of smaller islands. We’ll go through that and more in this quick guide to Where is New Zealand?

Quick facts about New Zealand

Population: 4.693 million

Land mass: 267,710 square kilometers

Languages: English, Maori and New Zealand sign language

Capital city: Wellington

Currency: New Zealand Dollar

Famous for: Natural landscapes, Maori culture and agriculture

Where is New Zealand in the world?

New Zealand is located the Oceania continent in the Southern Hemisphere. The country is situated in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,000km east of Australia. (Because, no, New Zealand is not part of Australia). New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, is about 2,100km from Sydney, Australia.

New Zealand is also situated south of the South Pacific Islands, such as Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, the Cook Islands, Samoa, etc. For instance, Auckland is around 3,185km south of Suva, the capital of Fiji.

New Zealand is also around 5,000km north of Antarctica.

How big is New Zealand?

New Zealand’s land mass covers an area of 267,710 square kilometers. Mainland New Zealand is considered as the North Island and South Island, New Zealand’s two largest islands. These two islands are separated by a body of water known as the Cook Strait, with its narrowest point being 22km between the two main islands.

Who are the people of New Zealand?

People from New Zealand are commonly known as New Zealanders. The population, which is around 4.6 million, is a mix of European New Zealanders and Maori New Zealanders, as well as other international migrants.

A quick history of the New Zealand people

Due to its water locked and remote location, New Zealand was one of the last countries to be found and settled. The Maori, a Polynesian culture where their exact origins is still unknown, are said to have been the first to settle in New Zealand during the 1300s. However, some say that there were smaller civilizations on New Zealand when the Maori first arrived.

It was around the 1600s when Europeans started to discover and map the coast of New Zealand, most famously by the Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman, and British explorer, James Cook. The British then colonised New Zealand around 1840 with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, forming a nation of the British and the Maori under the governance of the British Empire.

Who governs New Zealand Now?

New Zealand gained independence in 1907 which means while New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy under England, it has it’s one parliamentary government and Prime Minister.

What are the landscapes of New Zealand like?

New Zealand is famed for its diversity in natural landscapes. While the North Island is known for it’s active volcanoes and geothermal activity, the South Island has the mountain range of the Southern Alps spanning through the length of the island’s middle. The Fiordland National Park in the South Island holds New Zealand’s biggest concentration of fiords and glacier-carved landscapes. Both Islands hold spectacular mountains, dense forests of trees, ferns and mosses, black sand and golden sand beaches, magnificent lakes and rivers.

New Zealand landscapes also comprise of agricultural lands for livestock, vineyards and fruit orchards, while other industries that have shaped the land include forestry and mining.

… And where is the old Zealand?

We know you were wandering it! There isn’t really an “Old Zealand” or “Zealand” in relation to the country of New Zealand. However, the name “Zealand” is thought to have come from the Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman, where in Dutch, the word “Zeeland” means “sea land”. Zeeland is also a Dutch province.

There is a Danish island called Zealand, which part of Copenhagen is located on. However, this is believed to have no connection to the naming of New Zealand.

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